Michelle Rogat
Sustainability Problems
Go Fix It - Article Annotation #1

"A New Paradigm for Leadership: An Inquiry into Transformational Leadership"

1. Full citation.
Bass, B. (1996). A New Paradigm for Leadership: An Inquiry into Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA306579

2. Where does the author work, what else has s/he written about, and what are her/his credentials?
Bernard Bass worked for the military, since this report is published by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, so I suspect this article to be credible. The perspectives from which the research for this might have been from a military angle with more violence and combat in mind, but after reading through it I feel sure it applies to leadership in any crisis. From his obituary on the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc., Bass was a PhD with knowledge on industrial psychology, leadership studies, and more.


3. What is the main topic or argument of the text?
The main focus of this article that I am focusing on is how leadership is able to emerge during a time of crisis and be part of a solution through transformational leadership, why it is someone is able to gain leadership in a crisis, and how transformational leadership is different than the normal transactional leadership.

4. Describe at least three ways that the main topic or argument is fleshed out.
This report has many chapters that lay out how a person comes into leadership during crisis, how people react in times of crisis, what leadership entails, how leadership is in different situations, its success and failure, the difference of leadership among men and women, the difference between transformational and transactional leadership, implications it has for policy, how the gauge the state of leadership, how to train and develop transformational leadership, and more. Honestly, I think I will just read this report through on my own sometime because it will be useful for when I am in a job and want to gain support for changes at that job, an issue I already encounter but have given up on since I'm currently just a waitress and the country club is just a means until I get into my actual profession. I try to keep reminding myself that so I don't get so worked up over such an unimportant job, but I feel that's just an excuse, I still would really like my current workplace to change and improve.

5. What three quotes capture the critical import of the text?
  • "Charismatic leaders are likely to emerge during times of instability, crisis and turmoil. Such times increase the feelings among people of helplessness, agitation, anxiety and frustration. They accept the directions of charismatic leaders who appear to be qualified to lead them out of their distress." This is why I believe a likely leader would be someone who was already on the political stage that was working on climate change issues already, like Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixson.
  • "When their followers are engaged in defensive avoidance, transformational leaders bring them back to reality. Panic can be reduced or avoided by inspirational leadership that points the way to safety. In general, groups with leaders, transactional or transformational, are likely to cope better with stress than those without such leadership. More directiveness will be expected and desired from leaders by groups and organizations under stress."
  • "the transformational leadership components of charisma, inspirational leadership, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration contribute to effective leadership under stress. For one thing, charismatic transformational leaders tend to keep their "cool" when faced with threats to their lives. Thus, Mahatma Gandhi, F. D. Roosevelt, Kemal Ataturk, Benito Mussolini, Kwame Nkrumah, Charles de Gaulle, and Ronald Reagan displayed presence of mind and composure when faced with attempts to assassinate them. They were not easily frightened nor discon-certed. They remained calm. They maintained their sense of humor and were not thrown off balance in the face of danger or crisis... They also showed aspects of trans-formational leadership: perseverance under stress, decisiveness, and devotion to duty."
  • "To be effective in crisis conditions, the leaders must be transformational—able to rise above what their followers see as their immediate needs and appropriate reactions. Such leaders need to arouse inert followers to the significance of threats and the group's lack of preparedness. The leaders need to alter inert followers' willingness to live with frustration rather than make efforts to deal more adequately with obstacles in their path to reach positive objectives. Similarly, to be effective, instead of catering to the group's immediate needs and fears, leaders need to calm the demands for hasty change. To be effective, leaders need to be transformational in identifying and publicizing the inadequacy of defensive pseudo-solutions. To be effective, leaders need to be transformational in providing goals transcending self-interests for hyper-vigilant followers in a state of panic. To be effective when panic is imminent, leaders need to provide clear, confident direction. The transformational leader's vision for the future may set the stage for effective planning ahead; nevertheless, transactional leadership may also be important in planning."

6. Explain how the argument and evidence in the text supports your research focus.
This article explains how in a crisis people look toward others, leaders, for guidance and comfort and that is how a leader rises to their needs. It also
explains how people react to a crisis and how a leader can guide the public to acting in productive ways so that the problem isn't worsened or drawn out. The article also hints at the characteristics and skills a leader would need to be effective and transformational to the situation.

7. List at least two details or references from the text that you have used in your presentation and wiki post.
  • A crisis is described as a situation where the solution requires engaging in new, untested, unlearned behaviors in order to maintain or obtain the desired goals. Without the collective notion that there does exist a crisis, there would be no need for a leader to propose radical bold changes. Th crisis is what makes new leadership possible because it needs to hit home for the majority of people first. This is just one reason why I am a big fan of using empathy as a tool to work through problems and create solutions, and it is a tool that can be applied to almost any situation.
  • Krackhardt and Stern emphasize " the importance of adaptation and cooperation", which requires trust and friendly relationships. Those can be created by charismatic and transformational leaders.
  • The public is likely to have strong emotional responses to what is occurring, and this can bring out defensive reactions such as sticking with the status quo, making hasty decisions, or panic. Leadership can be an effective tool for avoiding these irrational coping mechanisms through identity campaigning and instructing the public on how to be safe and get involved with groups working on solutions.